‘White object’ spotted in search for missing Cessna plane in Isabela —PDRRMO

A white object has been sighted in Barangay Dicaruyan, Divilacan, Isabela during a search and rescue operation for the missing Cessna plane, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) said Friday.

In a press briefing, PDRRMO head Constante Foronda said that due to the bad weather, the rescuers failed to confirm if the object was the missing C206 plane RPC1174.

“It became enveloped in fog. What they did hinintay nilang mag-clear baka sakali masilip nila ulit at ma-confirm nila ulit 'yun nga 'yung missing aircraft. But then hanggang sa magdilim, hindi na nag-clear,” he said.

(What they did was they waited for the area to be clear so they could take a look again and confirm that it was the missing aircraft. But then, the area already grew dark and did not get clear.)

The plane went missing after taking off from the Cauayan airport in Isabela on Tuesday afternoon.

According to Foronda, the area where the object was sighted was consistent with the hints they have on the possible location of the missing plane including an account of a farmer, a passenger’s phone, and a report of a sound allegedly coming from an aircraft.

“Meron siyang (farmer) eroplanong nakitang lumilipad to Maconacon Airport and then it went to the right, made a loop and appeared to him na in distress 'yung aircraft,” Foronda said, adding that they do not know the intention of the pilot to do these actions.

(The farmer saw a plane flying to Maconacon Airport and then it went to the right, made a loop, and it appeared to him that the aircraft was in distress.)

The contact number of a passenger’s phone was forwarded to its service provider to determine its location. The location is within 20 kilometers of the cell site in Maconacon, a mountainous area between Maconacon and Divilacan, Isabela.

Foronda said as soon as the weather permits, a drone will fly to the area where the object was spotted or the “Site Alpha”.

“Ang instruction ko sa kanila is try to get two things: A positive identification that it is an aircraft and that is the aircraft we are searching for and kung makakita sila ng sign of life,” he said.

(My instruction to them is try to get two things: A positive identification that it is the aircraft that we are looking for and if they see any sign of life.)—AOL, GMA Integrated News